「Africa bigger and U.S. smaller: U.N. adopts new map」
Image and text from The Japan Times, 9/5/26. United Nations – The United Nations General Assembly voted Friday to adopt a new world map that makes the African…
Image and text from The Japan Times, 9/5/26. United Nations – The United Nations General Assembly voted Friday to adopt a new world map that makes the African…
There were thunderstorms threatening to cancel the classic contest between the beloved Tigers and the dreaded Giants. But the rain stopped right before the ball game started and…
My first visit to Suzuden in the Yotsuya neighborhood in the southeastern part of Shinjuku ward in Tokyo was in July, 2024, after I gave a guest lecture…
Photo and headlines on display at「Daruma」: Arnold’s 1985 Visit to Japan: During his visit, Arnold heavily promoted the premier of his action film Commando (1985)… a moment from…
Previous「Daruma」on VAoJ: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2019/08/izakaya-darumain-monzen-nakacho.html
Alternative Ending: Previous「Daruma」on VAoJ: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2023/07/vaoj-s2023rt-arc-arrival-in-tokyo.html
The Nippon Steel SGL Stadium Amagasaki opened on March 1, 2025 as the home ball park for the Hanshin Tigers farm team, known as 二軍 (ni-gun, 2-gun), the…
Caption: Mexican alligator lizards seized by Tokyo Customs from a Mexican man who attempted to smuggle them into Japan on Saturday through Haneda Airport | TOKYO CUSTOMS HANEDA…
Photo caption: Ainu musician Oki plays the tonkori during a performance in New York on June 4, 2026. (Photo not for sale)(Photo courtesy of Richard Termine/The Japan Society)(Kyodo)…
Tachinomi Banpaiya Monzen Nakacho has been described as “a popular, ultra-cheap, no-frills standing bar (tachinomi) located in the traditional shitamachi (downtown) neighborhood of Monzen-Nakacho in…
Orihara Shoten is a liquor shop and a “standing drink bar” usually known as 立ち呑み屋 (tachinomiya). This shop many shelves with various kinds of alcohol and refrigerators filled…
OK, so Inō Tadataka「伊能 忠敬」lived from February 11, 1745 to May 17, 1818. And he wasn’t really drinking with me at the izakaya (at least not in person).…
Image: Inō Tadataka (1745-1818), the famous Japanese surveyor and cartographer whose bronze statue resides in the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine grounds in present-day Monzen Nakacho, joined…
This post started after talking with my friend and colleague, Inge. Since we probably wouldn’t see each other for a while during the summer break, she asked me…
My friend and colleague Kevin Ming has published his new book, The Art of Getting By: Wisdom and Resilience from China’s Migrant Women (Algora Publishing 2026). Here is…
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images. | ©YANAGI MIWA Photo and text source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2026/07/10/art/…
Click on the article to see a clear view. Source: https://japantoday.com/category/politics/trump-says-japan-rather-iran-in-gaffe-over-missile-attack-on-u.s.-ship (July 9, 2026)
Image from https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/everybody-artifact-history-disability-america Thanks to Mori Soya Sensei for sharing information about this exhibition from Corbett OToo…
For a good memory post: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-master-of-canal-with-his-long-pole.html
After, let us say, a challenging semester, I was able to stay away from campus for a couple of relaxing and stress-free weeks. Upon my return (for a…
This rather large post documents the construction of a new apartment complex (corrected name on the apartment signage:「フォレストグクリエオーレ城垣町 I II」or, Forest Creaole Shirogakicho I and II) in my…